Recently we had the pleasure of visiting Dr Scamp at the luxuriously appointed Esteem Day Spa in the Marina Mirage on the Gold Coast. At the Plastic Surgery Hub we are 100% committed to our vision of Australians having their cosmetic and plastic surgery done in Australia by highly qualified surgeons. We believe it’s a false economy to have your cosmetic surgery procedures done overseas, as risks and complications can arise.
So we asked Dr Scamp what he thought were the risks of having cosmetic surgery overseas. Here’s what he had to say:
“The most common problem seen is that of people suffering from minor complications that were not attended to by their overseas doctor, which subsequently develop into more serious complications.Errors of judgement made by overseas doctors is another common issue, such as using the wrong shape implant, or failure to correct asymmetry, all due to a lack of attention to detail and failure to do the best job possible.
The least common, but most alarming problem is where people develop complications that have never been seen before which can result in being scarred for life.”
We asked Dr Scamp about the implants that may be chosen by an overseas doctor, and this is what he had to say –
“One of the concerns about plastic surgery in Asia is that a lot of the modern implants are not yet available there, likely due to the higher cost. So people may think they have a particular type of implant when in fact it is an inferior copy.
It’s also important for people to find out the qualifications of their surgeon or they run the risk of being operated on by an unqualified doctor. However with the language barrier, understanding what qualifications and training an overseas surgeon has can be difficult to establish.”
Why do we discourage traveling overseas for cosmetic surgery?
Basically, we have some of the best surgeons here in Australia, so our belief is why travel? At the hub we do hear quite a number of horror stories about overseas cosmetic surgery. Of course complications can and do arise in Australia too. The difference is you are here, and we have a fantastic medical and legal system to support you if something does go wrong.
The choice is yours!
Trish
Trish is a plastic surgery blogger. She is passionate about wellbeing, health and beauty, and doesn't mind a little bit of 'help' from the amazing cosmetic and beauty procedures that are available today. Trish spends her days talking to women and men who are looking for suggestions and advice on procedures that are available to them. Cutting through the sales pitch and hype, a down-to-earth response on general information is what you will get.
I understand this column and I do not disagree with the contents strongly, but i do think it’s an unfortunate way to make a point, Having lived in Africa and the UK and Australia, and traveled widely, I think that in the west, we make a grave error in underestimating the quality of medical services available in ‘less developed’ countries. For instance, I found that South Africa’s hospitals were among the best I visited anywhere in the world. The point about the latest implants not being available is unfortunate as I am sure many manufacturers – maybe all manufacturers – will sell to wheover they can and make the maximum profit – so I don’t understand the point. Anyway, the column is very interesting and highlights the real issue of people making poorly informed decisions, which is a problem in so many domains.
I understand that things can go wrong in Australia and overseas. It would be great to keep surgery in Australia as you have mentioned and yes we do have great surgeons.. But the high cost is way out of range for a lot of Aussies . This is the main reason people go overseas.
With regards to cost, this is where ‘shopping’ becomes invaluable. We recently received two quotes for a tummy tuck – one for $6500, one for $11000 – big difference! Same qualifications, same state! Shop around everyone, it’s soooo important, you may be surprised by the value that can be had in Australia!
Yes, indeed Trish, the price differences in quotes can be huge. What do you think about travelling interstate to get cosmetic surgery done. I live in Sydney and find the prices are quite high, I am seriously considering travelling to Queensland and stay there for a holiday as well – just like travelling to the Asian countries that includes a holiday there as well.
You say shop around, but a lot of the times there aren’t many fixed prices, the doctors want to see you first – can you recommend some affordable surgeons and their locations, cheek implants, or if the price is right, a Macs facial and neck lift.
I would greatly appreciate any feedback.
Hi Kate
I’ve travelled interstate myself to get surgery done as I’ve really wanted to see a particular surgeon. The difficulty comes in the after care and if something goes wrong, so it’s always something to be aware of.
I’m very soon in the market for exactly what you’re looking for! I’m thinking it might be helpful to join our closed Facebook group for some shared insights. Here’s a link https://www.facebook.com/groups/PlasticSurgeryHub/
Hope to see you there.
Trish
This is true it pays to shop around in Australia rather than going overseas. I paid 16,740 for MACS lift, upper and lower bleph, brow lift and fat graft to cheeks. Another Dr quoted me 26.000 for similar.
Oooo Tina, I’d be really interested to hear how the MACS lift went? How long ago was it? Did you find it was successful and ‘enough’ for your desired outcome? It’s something I’m looking at in the near future, would LOVE some feedback.
My op was done last Thursday, so there is still a lot of swelling and bruising expecialy around the eyes. Yet, when I take off my support garment I see a nice defined jawline. The MACS lift is suitable for those who have laxity in the mid/lower face and chin. Those who have very saggy neck tissue would probably need a full face lift and neck lift. My Dr said my neck was still very good, the problem was mainly jowls, very saggy eyelids/brows and flat/ gaunt cheeks. Another Dr wanted to perform a full facelift, which I felt I didn’t need as I do not have excess skin on the neck only slight laxity under chin. Also, with the MACS internal sutures are used to lift deep tissue,
I think the reason face lifts are a lot cheaper in some countries is because they only stretch and excise surplus skin without doing anything to lift and reposition the tissue underneath, a much quicker procedure but with short lived results. There are some very informative videos on youtube about the MACS lift.
Hi Tina yes i agree with you about the price of facelifts, you do have to get a doctor who knows what YOU need, there’s facelifts and there’s facelifts.
We’d love to see a before & after pic sometime 🙂
Hi Trish, there are some before pics here: http://www.realself.com/user/427447
I’ve had hand opposite experience.
Had the mummy makeover in Thailand and it was great and cheap.
When it came to my face though I wanted to stay in Australis and see one of the top surgeons.
Well the first one left me looking like I’d had a stroke, and slowly healed over a year but zero lift and I looked saggier!
A year later he did a revision surgery claiming he had no idea what went wrong….. And it happened a second time.
Now I’m going back to Thailand to get it fixed!
Kate, sorry to hear about your bad experience with the face lift. who was the Dr that did it? Was it a traditional face lift or mini?
Purely based on statistics the increased risk of traveling overseas to bonafide, US, Australian or European fellowship trained Derm / Plastic surgeons are, for example, not that much greater than for the same procedure whether done in the US or abroad. However, the cost difference can be astronomical, and still carry nearly all of the same risks.
It is the business from ordinary middle income folks from the countries with the highest physicians costs that is being lost. In addition, the reports you only hear about in the news are the botched cases. I hear about botched cases right here by US med school graduates and licensed practioners that immigrated from south east Asia but got their MD in the USA.
Successes don’t sell news papers, unless, for example, it is a savings of almost $100,000 by an out of pocket patient for having a cardiac surgery done in India. Now that has got to be some rare kind of trust and confidence that is driving patient affordability.